Plant washing

[DabberDog]

Got to noticing a Ficus I brought in from the balcony.
I am three stories above and a wide sidewalk away from a 6-lane highway and get ocean breezes. The Ficus leaves turned my fingers black from the soot in the air. The plant got a shower but still has residue.
I have two weed plants that have been on the same balcony for three weeks and don't know if they will be worth washing. I know there are different concoctions for washing plants and am wondering if there might be something 'soot' specific. It's not like I'm washing off backyard or household dust.

[crucialbunny]

I face much the same situation because of the proximity of a refinery a couple miles from me near LA harbor. During veg I use the garden hose to spray my plants down usually in the mornings to try and keep it from building up. During bud the plants are under a mosquito net and that does a good job of keeping whatever that black dust is. I have an avocado tree I grew from seed in a pot and the waxy leaves are very much like a ficus. I sometimes have to wipe the leaves down with a sponge.

[ductwizard]

not to be a downer but i hope you keep your windows shut and run some sort of air filter 'cause that shit don't sound healthy

[Bluey]

The black dust also contains rubber that mysteriously sinks in water. I think it is micro rubber from the tires. Not for consumption that is for sure.

[Rwise]

I read an article that called that nano plastic.

[Bluey]

Yes. Just read tire rubber has a density 10bto 20% more than water, but as those micro particles that contain contamination from the road they are much heavier

[Smallgrow]

Don’t forget brake dust , it can contain asbestos

[dirtymike]

Got to love those pacific coast winds. Run hwy 101 in the in early 1980, reckon a lot of factories have been built up since then. That's a shame. I still have great memories of that ride. So- Cal was hitting a lick then. Damn leprechaun brought my arse here and fukin left.

[Smallgrow]

My wife uses milk diluted with water to wipe down the house plant leaves occasionally.
Not sure the theory but I’ve head of others doing it too.
I also have a bottle of this I bought in case of pests, but haven’t tried yet. Can be used as a wash as well.

https://www.lostcoastplanttherapy.com/blogs/news/healthy-houseplants?_pos=1&_sid=8cf8029f8&_ss=r

[DabberDog]

Luckily the Tijuana River hasn't been too bad since they've been out there. I wonder which is worse: aerated effluence or automobile pollutants. Probably that first one. There is plenty of auto waste mixed in with the poop and medical detritus. Breathing all that crap in is a concern but there is zero I can do about it at the moment.
Washing is going to happen when I harvest. I just need to find the vinegar or lemon juice or H2O2 solution I've seen. Flowers are getting washed and am wary about residual.
Wiping leaves is not an option for a myriad of reasons. Probably the most significant is wiping off trichomes in the process. Might as well just trim the leaves off.
Meh. I might chalk this up to a loss and make up for it when the floors get taken care of.

[DabberDog]

Did the washing per instructions in this link from GWE. I didn't do the H2O2 wash because mold is not a consideration. No issues. Easy enough but I hope I don't have to do it again. Something just doesn't feel right about washing weed. What you don't see are the fans I have moving the plants around. It's been a couple hours in the breeze, and they've had several hand-shake sessions to speed things along. They are dry to the touch but will stay up for a few more hours.
A story on price markup:
I went to the liquor store to get the lemon juice and baking soda. They wanted $3.00 for about a half cup bottle of juice, and $5.00 for a regular box of expired soda. I've stopped going to the store except for incense and the water machine after going there for the 12 years I've been here. When dude wanted $8.00 for my purchase, I said, 'Never mind. When you ask me why I don't come here anymore, this is why.' Buddy Robert went to the Navy commissary. $2.50 for a liter of the same brand of juice and... wait for it... $0.82 (82 cents, American) for the Navy commissary brand of baking soda. Do I care name brand vs. government contract brand? Not when it's freaking baking soda... because it's freaking baking soda... and a box... with a different label... and not expired. If''n it's good enough for our boys in the trenches to wash their weed, it's good enough for this ginger bearded vet, by gum!

[Allenpro]

You should have crossed the TJ river if you wanted better prices. The only thing I buy in liquor stores is the occasional soda, everyone has better prices on liquor. Some friends of mine went to Rosirito on 4th of July weekend of an election year. They didnt know about the no alchol sales for 24 hours before and during an election and ended up paying $50 for a case of Modella

[DabberDog]

The breakdown:
2, 5-gallon buckets going for both steps.
Each branch was dunked, soaked, and shaken for at least the recommended 30 seconds and hung so they actually got a couple extra minutes soaking in the wash solution.
The buckets were washed out and refilled with clean water.
Each branch got the same dunking, soaking, and shaking treatment in the clean water.
This is what got filtered out. Mind you, I poured off four gallons, first. This is not what got shaken off in the cleaning solution, not what was left in the funnel, and not what was left in the buckets. You know; On the sides and such.
What you don't see is how the coffee filter was clogged by the end of filtering 2 gallons. I had to shake it to get the water to run through. It's not as if the filter was caked with... How do you say in English? I couldn't see what was clogging the filter. It wasn't dirt. Maybe trichomes? Maybe. The buds look almost as good as they did, trichome-wise, as they did before.
Less than four weeks on the balcony, people. [insert smog congested smiley face here]

[dirtymike]

No fukin wonder i cough.

[Wayzee]

That's fkn crazy Man. Anyone for a ciggy. Haha

[Allenpro]

A friend of mine got off the plane in LAX from some place in the midwest and said, "thank god I can taste the air again" he thought he was sufficating in the midwest

[ductwizard]

and i bitch about the green pollen that sticks to my car. you could make a killing with a power washer out there

[Allenpro]

You can tell its Spring in So-Cal becasue the rain washed the smog off the palm trees. LOL